Yahiro Saiga
attends Kokusen Academy, but it is revealed that he originally studied in Hakusenkan, but was expelled by Tadashi's Mother. He is the heir to the Saiga Financial Group, a group that is even higher in status than the Takishima Group. When he was young, Yahiro had no friends, for the most part because his attitude prevented him from making anyone smile or laugh and made them cry instead. He chose not to become friends with anyone at Kokusen Academy until he met Sakura. At first, he had rejected her offer to become friends, but complied after they went through a lot of trouble to save the rabbit they were trying to bring back to its home in the mountains. He is often seen, both in anime and manga, with Sakura, arranging parties and events. Appearance Yahiro has pink hair that reaches his neck and brown eyes. He has a slender build and is slightly shorter than Kei. He also has a piercing on his left ear. Personality Yahiro is a carefree young man with a sinister side. He is kind and gentle, but acts heartless and deceptive to protect Akira, whom he has harbored a crush on since childhood. He is also willing to use any means necessary to protect Akira, even if she hates him for it. It is because of this attitude, and an incident with Akira’s friend Sayo, that led him to his hatred of “poor” people. In the manga and anime, Megumi takes note of how Yahiro is truly a kind man, but masks himself as a villain. Relationships Megumi Yamamoto Despite his strong feelings for Akira, Megumi is later seen in the story as his new love interest. Megumi originally wanted only to distract Yahiro from knowing - and possibly opposing - the fact that Akira and Tadashi were dating. Fearing him possibly hurting the SA, Megumi asks him to date her. He agrees to a "trial date", telling Megumi how if she gets him to enjoy the date then he can date her. At first, it doesn't go well. However, he eventually shows a kinder side to her when he notices her trying so hard to make him happy. When he originally makes a snide comment about her only using a notepad to communicate, she tosses it into the trash and verbally talks for the first time in the series. She says how she only wishes to use her voice to sing in order to protect it - that is why she only communicates through her notepad. Although, she wonders if it's all in vain since her singing often causes chaos all around her. After this, he demands she no longer verbally talk and ends up buying her a magnetic drawing board so she can protect her voice. This kind act surprises her, causing her to realize he isn't as cruel as he makes himself out to be. During the date, Jun and Ryuu (buying groceries to feed a sick Hikari) see Megumi with Yahiro. Believing that he is doing something malicious to her, they follow the two. When they finally catch up, Yahiro pretends to be the bad guy again and covers for Megumi, lying that he was forcing her to date him. This causes Megumi to fully realize that he is only putting on an evil facade to cover his true inner personality. She sticks up for him and they leave together. Later on, he reveals that he knew that she asked him out so he wouldn't cause trouble for Akira and assures her that he won't do anything. He adds that he would never make Megumi do anything she wouldn't want to - offering for them to be friends. Megumi, wanting to cheer him up, then goes away a distance to sing to him. The distance proves to greatly help her voice, revealing the true beauty of her singing. Hearing her sing, Yahiro is awestruck and smiles. Afterwards, she asks him if he had fun. To which he replies that he didn't, despite smiling to himself as he says this. His answer only leaves Megumi wanting to try again. In the anime, his relationship with Megumi is shown to develop significantly. In the final episode, when Megumi is with the SA group to help get Kei back from London, she attempts to use her voice to take out several guards. However, she proves to be nervous and is unable to sing. Yahiro then appears behind her, and helps her relax before telling her to simply "Sing..." which enables her to do so. After helping her, Megumi thanks him before Yahiro leans in for an attempt to kiss her. However, their moment is ruined when Tadashi interrupts them. Yahiro then angrily yells at Tadashi for not reading the atmosphere between him and Megumi. They are later seen sitting together, with Megumi leaning against Yahiro's shoulder as he smiles. In the manga, however, this event does not happen. In the manga, Yahiro and Megumi's relationship is shown to develop in a different way. He offers to be her pretend boyfriend when she needs one in order to please her mother. At this point, Megumi has developed genuine feelings for him. This comes to a head when Megumi ends up confessing her feelings for him. He later defends her at her parents party when she is singing badly due to nerves and people start insulting her. When Yahiro helps her calm down, she sings beautifuly and ends up receiving various job offers. Afterwards, he tells her his response to her confession - he doesn't feel the same way. He explains how, despite his feelings for Akira, he doesn't think he knows what genuine love and caring is about. Despite the rejection, Megumi refuses to give up. In the sequel manga to the series, Jougai Rantou, Yahiro's relationship with Megumi has grown to the point that she willingly sings for him everyday. However, he still shows a strong attachment to Akira. This, in which, is saddens Megumi. When Megumi later joins a band, Sakura eagerly tells Yahiro how this could be the chance for Megumi to get a boyfriend. She reminds Yahiro while Megumi likes him, he doesn't feel the same way and she should try to move on. Yahiro, however, is shown to be bothered by this. He demonstrates a strong protective side over her, being furious when men make degrading comments about her during her concert performance, also believing it to be "tainting" her songs. When a group of guys attempt to attack Megumi, Yahiro angrily fends them off of her and kicks them out of the room. When Megumi expresses distress at not knowing how to please him, he tells her how he is happy simply hearing her sing. He then personally handles her singing career. During a concert, when she publicly declares her feelings for Yahiro, Kei asks him how he feels about her. He blushes and says it's none of his business. Later, when the girls discuss their romantic relationships, Megumi says she and Yahiro are doing good and they are going to see a concert together. Trivia *He, along with Satoru, Sui and the student council president all have the same English voice actor. Category:Characters Category:Male Characters